


Happy Max Day!

by escherlat



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-21
Updated: 2019-09-21
Packaged: 2020-10-25 14:10:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20725490
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/escherlat/pseuds/escherlat
Summary: Max turns 24.





	Happy Max Day!

Life sucks! Or at least today did. Max kept her gaze fixed on the view outside the bus window, her music soothing her through her earbuds.

Or at least that was the idea. Her feet ached. Her body ached. Even her mind ached. Eight hours on the job and the latest rejection letter both served to crush her spirits.

The day had started lousy with oversleeping, followed by Chloe not wishing her a happy birthday. They both were too busy flying around the apartment getting ready to leave for their jobs to even notice what day it was.

She looked at the papers clutched in her hands. _Rejection #172. I’ve received so many I know them by heart. _And now an empty apartment waited for her. Chloe had a second job tonight. Adulthood really sucked!

The music played and the landscape sped by. Neither registered on her mind, focused as it was by the suckiness of the day. _Suckiness. Is that even a word? I decree that suckiness is the word of the day!_

The backpack she used as a purse felt heavy as the world as it sat on her lap. Insider were her cameras, a digital and analog. _What’s the use of carrying them with me if no one likes my photos? What’s the use of my degree if it only lands me a job at the grocery store. Not that there’s anything wrong with retail work, but…_

Her phone dinged and she looked at her messages.

**Chloe:** Hey babe, could you get me a couple cans of blue paint? Need ‘em for my job.

A heavy sigh escaped her lips. No ‘Happy Birthday’ no jokes or bad puns. Straight to the point or running errands. Life was crushing them and leaving no survivors.

**Max:** Sure. The light blue you like?

**Chloe:** aye! That’s it! I’ll B there soon to pick em up. Luv ya!

Well, at least she got a ‘luv ya’ from her. Max tried to smile, to feel good about that, but it just wasn’t happening.

She crumpled the papers and shoved them in her pack. The stop for the store was approaching and she signaled the driver.

The first time they’d come to the small store on the corner, she and Chloe fell in love with it. It had a little bit of everything, from food to hardware to plants to furniture. And considering how tiny the store was, both were amazed it all fit.

Paint was kept near the back and she pushed through a cramped aisle to reach it. Two cans didn’t seem enough. Chloe always ran out, so she got four. Her phoned dinged a few more times with more requests for supplies. That required her to return to the front for a basket to put things in.

Thirty minutes and a full basket later, she was at the checkout. The total made her wince, but at least they’d be able to bill the client for the supplies. She paid the bill and resisted the urge to check their account balance. The clerk smiled at her, and she in return, then she picked up the bag and left.

Outside, a nice breeze blew. Not enough to chill, just enough to ruffle her hair. It was longer than she liked, but Chloe really wanted to see her in a pony tail. _Speaking of which, I need a hair tie._

She stopped and put the bags on the sidewalk. It took her only a few seconds to find a tie in her pack. While holding the tie between her lips, she gathered her hair and pulled it back into a little pony tail. A few strands weren’t long enough and hang free on either side of her face. She held the tail and quickly wrapped it with the tie.

_Much better! _The breeze was nice, but hair blowing in her face was annoying. She grabbed the bags and resumed her ten minute walk to their apartment complex. Her head bopped a little to her music. The supply run had moved her focus from the day to the project Chloe had tonight. Maybe she could tag along? That would be a lot better than sitting in an empty apartment all evening.

Her spirits were much better when she climbed the stairs to their third floor apartment. At the top she paused a few seconds. Her hands hurt from carrying the heavy bags. She set the bags on the small porch and shook her hands to get the blood flowing again.

When she pushed open the door, the interior of their apartment was dim. “Chloe,” she called as she picked up the bags. No one answered. She stepped inside and flicked on the light switch.

And dropped her bags.

All the furniture in their large front room was gone. In their place were large popup glossy prints of some of her photos. Each had a soft light illuminating it.

She stepped toward the closest, one of her favorite pictures. It showed Chloe looking across the Bay. Her blue and pink hair blew in the breeze, partially obscuring her face. The angle was looking slightly up at Chloe, who stood at a three quarter profile. The lighting in the photo was perfect. It was the day they left Arcadia Bay for the last time.

Her eyes strayed beyond that to the eight other displays, all arranged like an art gallery.

“Happy Birthday.” The words whispered in her ear and Max spun around. Behind her stood Chloe, Kate and Victoria. She blinked rapidly as tears threatened to fall down her face.

“What?” She didn’t know what to say. All her words were gone, lost in the private gallery in their apartment.

“It was Chloe’s idea,” Kate said as she stepped forward. She gave Max a quick squeeze, whispering “Happy Birthday.” Victoria stepped forward with her own well wishes and congratulations.

To the side, Chloe stood, her hand rubbing the back of her neck. Her eyes wouldn’t meet Max’s. Max stepped close and grabbed the lapels of Chloe’s jacket. Before she could react, Max stood on her toes, pulled on the lapels, and tenderly kissed her.

“Thank you,” Max whispered. “I… I thought you’d forgot.”

“No chance of that,” Chloe said in a strange voice. “I, uh, got reminders set on my phone to make sure I don’t.” She slipped her hand around Max’s waist. “Now, let’s tour the Caulfield collection, shall we?”

Kate closed the door then took the bags to the kitchen behind Victoria while Max let herself be led around the room. Chloe acted as guide, giving her best impression of a self-important art critic. Max laughed and clung to Chloe. All the stresses and aches from the day were gone, scattered by Chloe’s smile and jokes.

At the end, they stood hand in hand while Kate brought them pieces of cake. “Thank you, everyone,” Max finally managed to say, her voice squeaky and tight. “Today was so horrible and coming home to find such a wonderful present from all of you means a lot to me.”

“This isn’t your present,” Chloe said softly as she pushed the cake around on her plate.

“What?” Max turned to look at Chloe, her mouth open in surprise. Chloe took the opportunity to push a piece of cake into Max’s mouth.

“Eat,” she said with a smile. “Your presents come after the cake.”

When Max went to get a bite from her own cake, Chloe stopped her hand. “Oh, no,” she said with a smile. “Today is your day, the day of Max.” She picked up her slice of cake. “Open wide.”

Max opened wide, and found the cake smashed into her face! “Oops,” Chloe said in mock sorrow. The others turned their heads, smiles hiding on their faces. “Looks like I made a mess. Guess I better - awk!”

Max had picked up her piece of cake and squished it into Chloe’s face with a chuckle. “We both made messes,” Max said with a big smile.

“Hmmm.” Chloe leaned close and before Max could respond, she licked some of the cake and frosting off Max’s cheek. Max yelped and her eyes flicked to the others. Kate was turning crimson and hiding her face while Victoria only looked disgusted.

“Tastes better with a little Max on it,” Chloe purred.

“Get a room you two,” Victoria said. “Better yet, open your presents, Max.” But Max was too busy wiping cake off Chloe with her fingers and eating it.

“Not too bad a pri-”

“No bad puns with your names,” Victoria protested.

Chloe rolled her eyes. “Go chase yourself,” she said. She ate a chunk of cake off Max’s chin, then went to the kitchen. Momentarily she returned with some towels and a wet cloth. “Looks like there’s plenty of cake for later.” She waggled her eyebrows, causing Victoria to groan.

They were soon clean, both faces and hands. “This gallery is amazing,” Max said, words finally returning to her. “But if it isn’t my present, what is?”

Kate scurried into the back room with an excited sound. She soon returned with a couple of envelopes. Before she handed them to Max, she said, “The present is from all of us. A small thank you for your friendship and the way you’ve been there for us, and helped each of us over the years. Open the large envelope first.”

She handed Max two envelopes. One was large enough to hold portraits but was the wrong material for that. When Max opened it, she found several papers inside. She slid them out and scanned the top one. Her eyes grew wide and she almost dropped them.

**Ms. Caulfield, it is with great pleasure that I inform you of the acceptance of your photos for our upcoming issue focused on photographers in the North West. Your photos will also be featured in the art exhibition which tours the West Coast starting in October. You have a great eye for pictures and we look forward to working with you again soon.**

She read the message several times before it finally registered. _My photos were accepted somewhere! They’ll be in a touring exhibit!_

Everything began spinning and her head was light and threatened to float away. One of the other papers from the envelope was a check, an advance of royalties for the use of her photos.

“Congratulations,” Chloe said as she wrapped her arms around Max to hold her up. “You’re a published artist!”

Kate and Victoria chimed in, but Max looked at them incredulously. “H-how?”

“Like the dude said,” Chloe told her, “you have a great eye for pictures. You’re getting your break, Max!”

“I-I need to sit down.”

“Well, that’s gonna be kind of hard because we crammed all the furniture into the bedroom.”

“Please.”

Chloe helped lower her to the floor, placing her back against the wall. Max read the acceptance letter again. “When… when did this come?”

“On Monday. It was pure coincidence,” Chloe said. Kate gathered the plates and took them to the kitchen. Victoria joined them on the floor, sitting cross-legged.

“And you kept this from me?”

“That was my idea,” Victoria spoke up. “Remember last year when I got my break? Kate did something similar. She hid the letter and showed it to me two days later on our anniversary.”

That sounded like something Kate would do. Kate sat next to Victoria, taking the other woman’s hand in hers. “The gallery was Chloe’s idea though,” Kate said. “We just helped her put it together.”

“Thank you! I-I can’t believe this! After all the rejections and agencies that never returned a message. Getting this means a lot to me!”

“Open the other envelope,” Kate squeaked. “This is from all of us!”

The other envelope was regular size but felt heavy. Max popped open the back flap and shook out its contents, several pages of paper folded in thirds. When Max unfolded them and scanned the first, all the air left the room.

Her mouth opened and closed several times, but nothing worked! Even her eyes failed as the words on the page blurred together in a mess.

“I think she likes it,” Victoria said with a smirk. “You’re gonna love it.”

When Max could breath again, words still wouldn’t come to her. Instead, she threw herself at Kate and Victoria, squeezing them in a big hug. “She loves it,” Kate croaked over Max’s shoulder.

“Happy birthday,” Victoria squeezed out. “Now let us go before you wrinkle my sweater.”

Both girls drew in a deep breath when Max let them go. Victoria had a smile on her face, belying the words she spoke.

“Paris,” Max finally squeaked. “We’re going to Paris!”

“We’re going to Paris,” Chloe echoed with a great big grin. “You’ll find plenty of ops there for your photogs eye.”

Max’s eyes returned to the papers on her lap. An acceptance letter and a trip to Paris. Her mind whirled, wanting to deny it. After months, years, of trying to get a break, it was finally happening! And she had the letter to prove it.

Around her, the others began cleaning up. They moved the impromptu gallery to a corner and dragged the furniture back to the front room. When Max noticed and tried to help, they wouldn’t let her.

Soon her photos would be in a gallery! Her eyes fixed on the popups in the corner. Her fingers traced them, wondering how her photos would appear in the show. _A real art exhibit!_

She barely registered Kate and Victoria saying goodnight. Her entire attention was on the few things she could latch onto. Acceptance. Paris. Gallery. It was almost too much.

After a long time, she turned to find Chloe on their couch, half-closed eyes studying her. “And what happened to your job tonight,” Max said as she leaned all her weight on one leg.

“That’s, uh, actually next Saturday.”

“You needed more time to set this up?” Max let the papers fall from her hand as she walked to the couch. Chloe nodded and looked up her.

Max sat on the couch, straddling Chloe’s lap. “This was the best birthday ever,” she whispered as she leaned down and kissed her. Chloe’s hands went around her waist.

“You are hell worth it,” Chloe said around the kiss. Max leaned back, studying the way her girlfriend looked with her mismatched hair colors. She’d removed her jacket, leaving her only in a plain tanktop.

Max scooted forward. She leaned down and kissed Chloe again. “Thank you.” Her hands went to Chloe’s hair and they lost themselves for a while in the kiss.

When they broke apart, both were flushed. Chloe looked at Max, her eyes speaking things words couldn’t. “Time for you to unwrap your last present,” she murmured as she leaned forward and nipped the soft skin at the base of Max’s throat.

Max looked from side to side, but didn’t see anything to unwrap. “What? Where is it?”

A finger reached up and booped her nose.

“Silly, Max. I’m your last present.”

“You’re the best present.”


End file.
